From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nova Roma is an international[1]Roman revivalist
movement[2] created
in 1998 (or MMDCCLI AUC by the Roman calendar) by Joseph Bloch and
William Bradford, later incorporated in Maine as a non-profit organization with an
educational and religious mission.[3] Nova
Roma is dedicated "to the restoration of classical Roman religion,
culture and virtues" and promotes "shared Roman ideals".[4][5]

Because it has a structure based strictly on the ancient Roman
Republic,[6] with a
Senate, magistrates and laws enacted by vote of Comitia, and with
its own coinage[7
], and because the Nova Roma Wiki explicitly states that the group
self-identifies as a "sovereign nation", most outside observers[4][7
][8][9]
classify it as a micronation. However, some members of Nova
Roma assert that the state modeling aspects of the organization are
less important than its educational and religious goals.

Nova Roma is somewhat similar to the Society for Creative
Anachronism. Like the SCA, Nova Roma hosts events which members
attend, often in historical costume, to discuss ancient culture as
well as internal matters, to practice Latin conversation, to visit historic sites (if
the event takes place in lands known to the Romans), and to partake
in the cuisine of ancient cultures.

Members of Nova Roma also take Roman names that are
used at events and also when conducting business or participating
in the various Internet-based community fora.

As of December 2009, Nova Roma has approximately 1000 registered
members all over the world, and a further 1600 who have been out of
contact with the group during the current year, but who may resume
active membership at will by contacting the censors.

Contents

Roman
religion

Nova Roma has adopted[10][11] the
ancient Roman religion as its state cult, but
also maintains the freedom of religion of its
citizens, although in order to hold office in Nova Roma they do
have to swear allegiance to the Roman religion, or in the case of
non practitioners must swear to respect the Roman religion.
According to its own constitution, the primary function of Nova
Roma is to promote the study and practice of the ancient faith of
the people of Rome. Both the domestic religious traditions and the
so-called state religion (sacra publica) are represented
in the practices of Nova Roma[12],
including the restoration[13] of
the ancient priestly collegia, and the honoring of the
full cycle of Roman holidays throughout the year.

Magna Mater
Project

In 2002, Nova Roma dedicated themselves to help financially
facilitate the archaeological dig and preservation of the Temple of
the Roman goddess Magna Mater, also known as Cybele located on the Palatine Hill in
Rome.[14]
This joint effort between Nova Roma and the University of Rome is part of a larger
project presented to UNESCO to
preserve the entire South-Western section of the Palatine Hill in
light of its religious importance in antiquity.[15][16] As of
November 2007, Nova Roma and its citizens are the largest investors
in the ongoing restoration of the temple.[17] It
should be noted however that there is no actual religious worship
at the excavation due to the extensive work still needed at and
around the Temple.[14]

In April 2009, there was some controversy regarding the project,
as one of the directors of Nova Roma, Robert Woolwine, claimed that
it was being investigated for potential wire fraud; in response the
project's website had been taken down, and one of Nova Roma's
magistrates had issued a decree demanding that it be put back
up.[18] Its
ultimate fate has remained uncertain as of July 2009.

Living Latin and
language policy in Nova Roma

Nova Roma recognizes two official languages, English and
Latin. The use of Latin is
consistent with a general revival of the study of this language,
and is in keeping with Nova Roma's Roman historical background.
Provinces in non-English speaking countries generally use the local
vernacular for
provincial administration. The Latin used in Nova Roma is a good
example of Recent Latin, and the presence of a
relatively large percentage of classicists has resulted in the
appearance of a normative trend toward Classical Latin.

Live
events

Besides several local events in the provinciae
(regional subdivisions of the organization), Nova Roman citizens
meet each year at the annual Conventus Novae Romae in
Europa, which took place the last time in August, 2008, in
Băile
Herculane and Bucharest, in the south of Romania. Nova Roma also participates in such
events as the Festival of Ancient Heritage[19] in
Svishtov, Bulgaria, ,
now-defunct Roman Market Day[20][21][22] in
Wells Harbor Park, Maine and
Forum Fulvii in Italy,
Ludi Savarienses Historical Carnival or the Aquincum
Floralia Spring Festival[23][24] in Hungary. Nova Roma sponsors a
number of re-enactor "legions". These
groups participate in re-enactor events, visit schools to put on
educational presentations and are sometimes used as "extras" in
films.

"Vox
Romana" Podcast

Vox Romana is a
free irregularly-scheduled podcast of Nova Roma about all things
Roman.[25] The
Vox Romana editorial staff is an international team of
people from different cultural backgrounds, with diverse talents,
interests, and expertise, who all share in a common love of Roman
culture. According to their statement[26],
their mission is to become a voice for the modern Romanitas.

Academia
Thules

Academia Thules[27] is
staffed by members of Nova Roma, but has no official ties to it.
This virtual university offers online courses on Greek and Roman
History, Ancient Philosophy, Roman Archeology, Roman Religion,
Latin Language, Ancient Military Arts and Roman Law.

Because of the huge geographical distances between members of
Nova Roma, living in several countries through over the world, most
communication happens on the e-mail discussion lists or groups,
where all the citizens are able to explore a variety of subjects
related to Ancient Rome. The most important discussion list is the
"Main List", where Nova
Roman citizens and non-citizens discuss topics of general interest
and where official announcements are made.